An agency staff member was arrested
Police arrested a woman after the incident(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A mum has spoken of her horror after claiming her little girl was ‘filmed in the school toilets’ by a member of staff.
The parent said her daughter, who is in year six at a primary school in Bolton, which the M.E.N is not identifying due to the nature of the offence, reported a member of agency staff was filming her in the bathroom on her mobile phone.
Parents and carers later received a message from the school, seen by the M.E.N, confirming the staff member had been arrested on her second day in connection with the incident on Tuesday (November 11).
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Greater Manchester Police confirmed a woman, aged in her 20s, was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism offences. She has since been bailed. Officers are conducting a ‘thorough investigation’, the force confirmed.
The mum said her daughter ‘immediately told a member of staff’ about the incident in the bathroom and that the school called the police.
“Thankfully, my daughter knew this was wrong, left the bathroom and immediately told a member of staff,” she explained on Wednesday (November 12).
“This is beyond unacceptable. A member of staff, even agency, had a phone inside children’s toilets and used it to record a child. That is a massive safeguarding failure.
“I have already kept her home today, following the incident, because I don’t feel the environment is safe. My daughter has said she is too scared to go to school.”
In a statement to the M.E.N, Bolton Council confirmed that ‘robust safeguarding measures’ are in place and that appropriate procedures have been followed.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the mum further described the incident as ‘traumatic and worrying’ and said she was told more absences for her daughter ‘would not be authorised’.
“It’s been very traumatic and worrying for us,” she said. “I have been offered no explanation, no details of new procedures from the school themselves and I have now been informed that any more absences occurred by my daughter will not be authorised.
“My daughter is too scared to return to school and now she is being penalised for that. The incident itself was awful enough.
“It just builds a total lack of trust in the school itself and in the wider system which is meant to keep our children safe.”
After being approached with the claims, a spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “We are aware that a member of agency staff working at a local school has been arrested.
“As the matter is subject to a police investigation we are unable to comment further. Both the school and the council have robust safeguarding measures in place and all appropriate procedures have been followed.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were called to the school at around 11am on Tuesday following reports of ‘a video being taken of a child at a premises.’
“A woman in her 20s has been arrested on suspicion of voyeurism and has been bailed pending further enquires,” the statement added.
As Detective Chief Inspector Mike Sharples, from GMP’s Bolton district, added: “We understand that incidents like this cause significant concern in the community, and we want to reassure the public that this matter has been treated with the utmost seriousness.
“This was an isolated incident with no wider threat to the community. We remain in contact with the school and parents of the child while officers conduct a thorough investigation.”